School districts re-opening with precautions

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.- This has been a school year students and staff across the country will never forget, a time when learning was done outside the school building due to Covid-19.

“As this pandemic was worn on it seems the only consistent part of it is the inconsistencies,” said Metcalfe County School District Superintendent Dr. Benny Lile.

As the state begins to re-open, local school districts like those in Metcalfe and Barren counties are looking forward to the day they can welcome students back.

Yet, the Kentucky Department of Education is telling district leaders to prepare for the possibility of continuing with non-traditional instruction.

“We make the commitment that we’re not going to leave anyone out, so students who may not have access, we absolutely wanted to provide an option,” Lile said.

It’s not just the non-traditional instruction that districts are preparing for. This past school year, the pandemic affected the way students get fed, as local districts made deliveries while students were away. Districts are also planning for that in the fall just in case.

“I’m confident that our staff will rise to the occasion and meet the need whenever that reveals itself,” said Barren County School District Superintendent Bo Matthews.

As school districts prepare for a need to close once again, school staff everywhere agree that they’re looking forward to having the students back.

“It was not an ideal situation to wind down the school year as we had to. We need to reconnect. We can do that through technology and that’s a wonderful thing, but there’s no substitute for being in person. We look forward to that,” Matthews said.